Mar. 15, 2013

Cows are covered in heavy, wet snow on a farm during cold and windy weather Wednesday in Medina, N.Y. / Associated Press

Written by

Todd Hill

News Journal

Back on Feb. 2, Buckeye Chuck and most other groundhog prognosticators in this part of the country predicted an early spring. Boy, were they mistaken.

It will be six weeks since Groundhog Day on Saturday, and in that span we’ve essentially experienced six weeks of winter. We’re looking at at least one more week of it, too.

Clouds will continue to lower and thicken Friday as a cold front approaches from the north. Rain could start falling by 5 p.m., but will probably hold off until after sunset. It should be good and wet Friday night into Saturday morning.

Most of the precipitation that falls will be rain, but a mix or changeover to freezing rain and/or snow is expected overnight. As has been the case a lot lately, no significant snow accumulation is likely, but don’t be surprised if you wake up to a white landscape Saturday morning. And don’t be surprised if the snow is gone by noon or so.

After a largely seasonal forecast high temperature of 48 degrees Friday afternoon, we’re not likely to get that warm again until Monday, and Monday will not be a nice day.

We’re looking at high temps around 40 degrees for both Saturday and Sunday. Slow clearing will be the rule on Saturday, while Sunday should be mostly sunny and nice, but will still feel more wintry than springlike.

An ambitious storm system will show up for Sunday night, Monday and Monday night. The good news is that probably all of the precipitation associated with it will fall as rain here, with perhaps a bit of snow at the tail end of the event Monday night. Michigan and upstate New York state could get slammed with a good snowfall, but not us.

Looking past Monday, high temperatures only in the 30s will be the rule through the next work week. Sorry.

Below are the weather statistics for Thursday, March 14, at my location 4 miles north-northwest of Fredericktown, Ohio: